Monthly Archive: March 2026

Cruising is a little more accessible for Floridians, so I’ve been lucky enough to experience a variety of these floating vacations. Years ago I went with a group of friends after one of them heard a radio ad for a cruise for $150. As it turned out it was a gay cruise (not that there’s anything wrong with that). That’s the cruise that had us in a bar in Mexico where they put a plastic tarp over you and pour sangria down your throat. Needless to say, hours later we found ourselves running down the dock yelling “Wait!” as they were pulling up the gangway.

Now, hubby and I like cruises where they have a quiet deck for reading and there is a sea of walkers/scooters outside the dining room for the four o’clock dinner. Sometimes there are cooking classes, maybe even a lecture. Family members scoff saying, “Those are the old ships.”

So we recently tried one of the newer fancier cruises…the ones that look like someone took a giant crane and lifted Las Vegas off its tectonic plate and dropped it on a floating barge. This ship was spectacular with an Aqua Theater that had the best show I have ever seen, which included high-dives and acrobatics synced to great music. There was also a fantastic ice skating show and the Broadway musical Cats – just to name a few of the many “diversions.” All big fun and a great way to vacation with family as our group of eighteen included seven kids.

But there was no quiet deck, and they did away with our favorite bar – the one with the classical guitarist and the floor-to-ceiling windows with a 270-degree panoramic ocean view where you sit high above, sipping cocktails while watching the shenanigans being played out on the decks below.

Honestly, though, it’s all a bit “pinch me” to think of younger days when I spent Saturday nights watching Captain Stubing and the gang on those “exciting and new” adventures at sea, all of which seemed only for the rich and famous.

The late, great Robin Williams said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’”

Can’t you just picture him running around on stage, arms waving in the air imitating a partying flower in that high pitch hilarious voice?

I realize how fortunate we are in Florida that we don’t typically experience the really cold weather that kills everything green. But this year was different and now everything is brown and sad, and much has died.

But one of my trees that I so hoped would survive is starting to show signs of life. I think I heard a whisper of “Let’s party” when I was out there the other day.

I wish Robin were still with us to spread that contagious joy as only he could.

Happy spring! 🌻

I never got to say how much we enjoyed knowing George, and how lucky we feel to have had him in our lives when I first wrote about him in “Mailing A Leg.”

The way we met George pretty much sums up the type of person he was. Hubby was checking his mom into “rehab” after a fall. Unfortunately, these places are filled with folks who have nowhere to go, most with advanced memory issues and a few perfectly fine mentally, like George. He came wheeling in with his walker like the welcome committee. He showed them the ropes and said to hubby, “Come to my room and I’ll give you the list of channels.” Admittedly, hubby’s first thought was, uh oh. But then he realized, he does only have one leg; I can probably outrun him.

George is gone a year now and we still reminisce about him, like how he would sometimes put the entire email message in the subject line; how he would steal Golf Digest from dialysis for hubby; and how he would be all set up with napkin in lap and fork in hand when hubby arrived with food. And we still quote his favorite expression, “Yeah, right.” (Said with great northeastern sarcasm as George was from Connecticut.)

Another sweet memory is when we had George over to make onion rings, as cooking was the thing he missed most. He planned it for months and insisted on buying all the ingredients – the biggest size of everything with the hopes of doing it many times.

George loved watching cooking shows and had us order things on Amazon to try to improve the food in the rehab. He even talked of starting his own YouTube channel, “Cooking with Nothing.”

We have great memories of George and feel fortunate to have known him. His infectious enthusiasm was outweighed only by his appreciation for every little thing we did, which was evident the first time I went to his room. “Look around,” he said, “everything I have is because of Joe.”